Strictly's Shirley Ballas opens up on 'unconventional relationship' with boyfriend

Shirley Ballas and her boyfriend Danny Taylor's relationship has been labelled "unique" and "unconventional" by the Strictly Come Dancing head judge.

Having first encountered each other on the pantomime scene four years ago, the 63 and 50-year-old couple are still going strong despite not living together, and only seeing one another every now and again.

Read more: Shirley Ballas wants to see a royal on Strictly and has sights set on Camilla

The 'Queen of Latin' told The Sun: "I think Danny and I have a very nice relationship and he is, by far, the kindest and nicest man that I have met. But we went up to the Fringe Festival in Edinburgh last year and we were all ready to go and then he didn't seem ready.

"I didn't get a good feeling from it, so I thought, 'Nah, it's not for me'.

"It's nice if I can come and go," reflected Ballas, who was initially terrified of replacing the late Len Goodman on Strictly's judging panel.

"I think the last time I saw him was August, when he joined me on my week-long Skyathlon challenge for mental health charity CALM — so it has been a long time."

Read more: Shirley Ballas pays tribute to 'dearest friend' Len Goodman: 'A true gentleman'

Dissecting their romantic situation even further, she revealed that it's all "built on trust".

"I don't want anybody else and, as far as I know, he doesn't want anybody else and we talk most days on FaceTime. It is what it is, and I'm happy with the way it is."

Ballas knows it's right for her because she apparently lights up "like bulbs" when they're together.

"There is no point in being under each other's feet when you haven't got time for each other. At our age, it works," she concluded.

Watch: Shirley Ballas conquers fear and completes 'terrifying' skydive to raise money for charity

This article originally appeared on Yahoo TV UK at https://uk.news.yahoo.com/strictly-shirley-ballas-unconventional-relationship-105947101.html